Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council (ASC) released its latest report on the fatal crash of a TransAsia Airways ATR on Thursday, revealing some potentially troubling problems with the country's pilot training programs. Initial reports released days after the crash in February pointed to a "failure to produce enough thrust" from the engines, citing a mysterious manual shutdown of the left engine.
The ASC's latest report confirms the manual shutdown was instigated by Captain Liao Jian-zong, who can reportedly be heard on voice recordings saying "Wow, pulled back the wrong throttle." The Captain's botched move effectively shut off the plane's only working engine, which initiated confusion in the cockpit on how to regain control of the aircraft. Shortly before impact, a junior first officer (onboard for training) can be heard saying "Impact, impact. Brace for impact."
Liao previously failed a simulator check in May of 2014, according toThe Guardian. An instructor had also recommended that Liao needed additional training on how to deal with a potential engine failure. 43 people were killed in the crash, inspiring Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration to engage in new training tactics aimed at preventing similar mistakes in the future. The ASC's full report is due by April 2016.
